Sunday February 11, 2018
Year B, Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany :: Green ::
2 Kings 2:1-12 :: Psalm 50:1-6 :: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 :: Mark 9:2-9
Call to Worship (Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 50
L: God speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
P: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
L: God does not keep silence.
P: God calls to the heavens and to the earth
L: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who have made a covenant with me.”
P: The Heavens declare God’s righteousness, for God alone is judge.
Invocation:
Almighty, Holy, Heavenly One, we come before you in this your Sanctuary, seeking to know your presence. We come before you as people who have failed, faltered and even sinned before you. We come seeking your acceptance, your forgiveness, and your approval. Guide our hearts and minds, O God, during this time of worship. Help us present our whole selves to you. Help us to receive your love and grace fully. For we offer ourselves and our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Stewardship Moment:
The apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth that the people who are perishing are blinded by the lower case G god of this world. Paul goes on to write that we are called to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. When we meet those that differ from us, and do not see God, we are missing this same light. The gifts we bring help this church not only to be light to the world, but light to each other when the world tries to blind us.
Offertory Prayer:
O God of all people and places. We marvel at the way you have made us all in your image, yet life and circumstance has somehow made us so different. We bring these offerings today, O God, in hopes that some of the human hurt and suffering might be healed. We offer these gifts with the prayer that others will come to know your healing hand. Glory, honor, and praise be yours forevermore. Amen.
Communion Meditation:
When Jesus is transfigured, or transformed on the mountain top, the voice from heaven says “This is my Son, the beloved; listen to Him.” When we keep listening to Jesus, especially around this table of remembrance, we recall Jesus’ words of forgiveness. This is not a table for perfect saints, this is a table for sinners . . . who are being perfected.
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Scripture Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Check out all of the awesome resources there at http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu